Central PA EV news

I figured I would start a thread to post EV news in central PA. I'm in Sunbury and AFAIK bought the second Leaf sold from Alexander's in Williamsport. I got my car near the end of April. The first one went to a member on here from Danville.

The first big news item is that we now have a free public charger at Knoebels Amusement Resort.
http://www.knoebels.com/index.php
Here's the article from the local paper.
http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x1483831165/Power-to-the-people

I'm going to try to get out there tomorrow to check it out.

You're also supposed to be getting some of the first Level 3 DC fast chargers in the mid-Atlantic (East of the longitude of Toronto, actually), at select Sheetz stores. See the press release at http://sheetz.com/main/news/release_details.cfm?rid=421" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've phones each of these locations, and some of them are aware that they're supposed be getting DC fast charging (I just referred to "chargers for electric cars" on the phone), but no ground has been broken.

The press release has a map of the locations: http://ow.ly/6Jd8q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am eagerly awaiting these guys, so I can drive up from the Washington DC area and commission my 480V port! The DC area has yet to see it's first Chademo DC fast charger. So far, the only publically available DC fast charge in our nation's capital is for Teslas only at 1100 New York Ave. NW (see plugshare and 222.freejuicebar.com).

I haven't heard anything on the Sheetz chargers other than the original press release. They should be mostly within range for me.

I got out to Knoebels tonight and tried out the charger. It's there and it's free. I wasn't able to talk to anybody about so I don't know if they intend on it being available 24/7 or during the off season.
When you come into the park the road turns to the left and the bumper boats are to your right followed by a few pavilions. You have to go up the road a bit to enter the lot. The charger is on the corner of the first row of parking near the pavilions you would have just passed.







I printed the protocol card for on the dash while I'm charging in case someone else shows up.
http://www.evchargernews.com/chargingprotocol.htm

Metalman said:

I figured I would start a thread to post EV news in central PA. I'm in Sunbury and AFAIK bought the second Leaf sold from Alexander's in Williamsport. I got my car near the end of April. The first one went to a member on here from Danville.

Click to expand...

Apologize for the off topic comment, but such a small world. I was born in Williamsport and lived in Danville from about 1935 through 1950. Well remember Knoebels, and back then, a trip to Sunbury was an adventure.

Bill

Thanks for the message! I stopped checking the forum for a while because I backed my Leaf into another car in my driveway and it's been gone in the shop for almost two months. Just got it back last night, so this Knobels charger thing is awesome! We were just there the other day, but I didn't know it was there. I've also been wondering about the Sheetz locations, cause I did call each one last month and none of them were done yet, so yes this is all positive news. I did notice though that the Nissan dealer right off of 180 across from the Lycoming Mall had Level 2 chargers but attached to them is a padlock on the electrical box and are unusable (I guess you have to call ahead for that). So anyway, welcome everyone to the board! We also were in Hilton Head Island in SC and saw one leaf there, such a perfect location for one if you live/work near the island if you can't bike it.

I took the Leaf out to the wind farm at Aristes to get some pictures on Sunday. I stopped by Knoebels on the way. The lot was full, but the charger was open. I pulled right up front, got a little charge and something to eat and was probably gone before the people that had to park at the back of the lot got in the park.

Hello All,

Just wanted to give a quick update for a charger in the Central PA/Lehigh Valley Area. There is now a working Level 2 charger at the following address: 1578 State Route 903, Jim Thorpe, PA. It is just one spot attached to a light pole in the parking lot of an electrical provider called WB Electric. The owners are extremely nice and they are also looking into getting a parking spot in downtown Jim Thorpe complete with solar panel, they are just waiting for the city to tell them which spot they can have. It is a GE charger and is very nice, I used it twice this week while charging. Unfortunately the only thing around at all in this area is a restaurant/bar named 'Dom & Ally's' across the street, and a Shell station across the street as well. The Shell station has a wooden park bench thing in the shade which was nice, but only the restaurant has a public bathroom. There is a pool table in the joint and the food was decent. They are open 7 days a week. The guy who owned the charger at WB Electric said to call them if you need to use it because they don't leave it on all the time. Free. Thanks all, and I've called every Sheetz on the press release last week and none of them know when their chargers are coming and what level they will be unfortunately,......I also read that LCCC has some for students now too, but all level 2s. I also have not heard any word on chargers for the exits on the turnpike like we were promised by the end of 2012.......I will post this on the other PA website as well.

I was just checking out plugshare to see if anything new popped up. I noticed an Exxon station supposedly has 2 free level 2 chargers. This is the info from plug share.

Exxon - Lehigh Gas Station & Convenience Store
EV Plug
Address
4361 N Front St Harrisburg, PA 17110
Phone
(717) 238-0136
Description
Available Hours: 24/7 Use: 2 chargers, public use & free of charge Charge Station Type: ~240V Level 2: SAE J1772 (new standard, high voltage)

Has anyone used this?


Of course there is a Nissan dealer close by, but if they're like the rest of the dealers they have their chargers locked.

I noticed this post a few weeks ago, and as the Front Street Exxon is only about 5 miles from my work I thought I would scout it out. I'm thinking about getting something that plugs in, but currently drive a Ford Crown Vic so I was not able to test.

There are two EATON units. At the time of my visit at 1:30 PM on a Wednesday one spot was ICED. However that unit looked like it might not be functional as it's blue light was not on. The unit that is possibly functional was not ICED, but in using it one would have blocked the car that was in the first spot.

The units are on the side of the mini mart / Exxon station. I inquired with the staff in side. They were friendly but seemed to not know much about the units. As far as the clerk I spoke with knew, they were free. She said that she had someone charging on them a weekend or two ago, but that is the only time that she knew it was used. The clerk also said that there are some additional units downtown (Harrisburg)

In the area there is a nice view of the river that would be a nice place to take a break while charging. Additionally there is a McDonalds and a few other establishments near by.

I will post pictures this evening.

I also checked out the chargers on Front Street in Harrisburg a few weeks ago. They were on and available, I didn't try them out because I had the diesel car.

My brother just picked up a red 12 Leaf. That makes three in the general area that I know of.

I stopped by Knoebels on Saturday to check on their charger, it is accessible and turned on. I don't know if they would have a problem with someone using it on the off season.

An update on fast chargers at Sheetz 1/25/13:

Mr. Bauman,

You are correct that we had planned to install 5 Level III DC Fast Chargers at five of our stores in PA. However, the future of those chargers currently is uncertain due to a potential merger of the company who was doing the installation for us. I hope to know whether these installations will occur within the next 4 weeks so feel free to check back with us at that time. Thanks for your inquiry.

Joe Raia
Sheetz, Inc.
Energy Manager
351 Sheetz Way
Claysburg, PA. 16625

814 941 5563 – P
814 931 4583 – C
[email protected]

I made a trip to Pottsville on 2/3/13. The trip was 87 miles round trip with plenty of hills. I didn't think I could make it on one charge so I stopped by Kneobels on the way there to be sure the charger was on. I plugged in for a bit, but mostly just to check it out. My plan was to stop by on the way back to charge if I needed it and I did need it.
I didn't use any heat (16 to 20 degrees) or lights and was beginning to worry that I wouldn't make it to the charger. I made it and charged for a little less than an hour to make it home.
I wasn't sure if anybody would say anything to me for being out there on the off season. There were some people around, but nobody seamed to care that I was there.
Thank you Knoebels for caring more about supporting electric cars than Nissan's dealers.

Hi All, :evil:

Just wanted to mention my absolute distaste for the Alexander Dealership off of I-180 in the Muncy/Lycoming Mall area. The first time I had an appointment at the 6-month mark they didn't charge my car, I had to call them to turn on the electric outside - which then cost me many hours of life because I didn't have enough range to get home. Today, I arrived at the dealership and specifically told both the technician and the service person that it absolutely needs to be plugged in before the inspection and put back on right after because I need almost a full charge to get back home, and if they forget like last time I would be there from 9am to 7pm for a simple yearly maintenance check. After about 3 hours of waiting in the mall I decided to call them because no one was calling to tell me anything. I was then ambushed by the service lady yelling at me and telling me that "we shouldn't be doing what you told us to do - you can't unplug the car and then 10 minutes later plug it back in - it will destroy the battery and it will void your warranty if there are too many knocks against your efficiency score." I was like,....ummm......WHAT??!?!? I immediately marched back up to the dealership and spoke with both of these people again and told them that there is no way for me to get home at a normal hour if they do not charge it, I have no idea why I am being yelled at from your people by just telling you how to do your job (because it was obvious you couldn't do your job the previous time). So after this discussion I have sworn off this dealership where I bought my Leaf from last year.

I still love the car, works exactly as I expected it to and love everything about it, but this dealer honestly doesn't know the first thing about this vehicle and makes no attempt to get the correct information and be even slightly nice to their customers. I won't even go into their inability to just generally schedule customers......I guess I just cannot get over the fact that a business can sell you something that you expect long-term support for and a year later they look at you like 'what do you want me to do with this thing?!?!.' Any other people have positive experiences in the central Pennsylvania market? I will literally have this car towed to a better dealership for the inspection and future issues,...................let me know when you have a chance.

I made a trip to Harrisburg last Sunday in the Leaf. I've been wanting to do it for a while now. My sister moved to within about 4 miles of the charger on front street at the Exxon. So we parked there and plugged in (bought some snacks), unloaded our bikes and rode to my sisters place. We then rode bike to go for lunch and then a short ride around City Island.
We had a tail wind on the way to Harrisburg. With a full charge we made the 55 miles with five bars(?) and 40 miles left showing. On the return trip I only had three bars and 19 miles showing.
I did go by Northwood's Nissan in Selinsgrove on the way to Harrisburg just to see if they had their charger on in case I needed it on the way home, as expected they did not.
So a big thanks to the Exxon on Front Street in Harrisburg. I figure we made this trip for about $1.25 - $1.50 in fuel cost.

Hi All,

Just wanted to mention my absolute distaste for the Alexander Dealership off of I-180 in the Muncy/Lycoming Mall area. The first time I had an appointment at the 6-month mark they didn't charge my car, I had to call them to turn on the electric outside - which then cost me many hours of life because I didn't have enough range to get home. Today, I arrived at the dealership and specifically told both the technician and the service person that it absolutely needs to be plugged in before the inspection and put back on right after because I need almost a full charge to get back home, and if they forget like last time I would be there from 9am to 7pm for a simple yearly maintenance check. After about 3 hours of waiting in the mall I decided to call them because no one was calling to tell me anything. I was then ambushed by the service lady yelling at me and telling me that "we shouldn't be doing what you told us to do - you can't unplug the car and then 10 minutes later plug it back in - it will destroy the battery and it will void your warranty if there are too many knocks against your efficiency score." I was like,....ummm......WHAT??!?!? I immediately marched back up to the dealership and spoke with both of these people again and told them that there is no way for me to get home at a normal hour if they do not charge it, I have no idea why I am being yelled at from your people by just telling you how to do your job (because it was obvious you couldn't do your job the previous time). So after this discussion I have sworn off this dealership where I bought my Leaf from last year.

I still love the car, works exactly as I expected it to and love everything about it, but this dealer honestly doesn't know the first thing about this vehicle and makes no attempt to get the correct information and be even slightly nice to their customers. I won't even go into their inability to just generally schedule customers......I guess I just cannot get over the fact that a business can sell you something that you expect long-term support for and a year later they look at you like 'what do you want me to do with this thing?!?!.' Any other people have positive experiences in the central Pennsylvania market? I will literally have this car towed to a better dealership for the inspection and future issues,...................let me know when you have a chance.

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I scheduled my yearly check up for this week. The service adviser I talked to was not much help. I'm guessing yours and mine are the only ones they sold.
He said the check up would be $50 and I said as far as I know it's included, he was sure it wasn't. I'll have to show him the book.
I also told him I would need a little charge to get home and he has much the same reaction as you had. "you can't charge it like that".
I talked to Andrew today and he said he would set them straight.

They now appear to keep the chargers unlocked, so the three outside should be available to use at all times, if they're not parked in.

I have 20,000 on mine now.

I had my battery check done the other week at Alexander's, all 5 stars. Mine went better than centralpaleaf's. My appointment was for 10:30. I packed up my bike and skipped breakfast, got there about 50 minutes before the appointment and plugged it in. Dropped off some sugary good service assurance (donuts) to the service department and to Andrew in Sales. Took the bike for breakfast and then for a little ride. The car was done, washed and plugged in when I got back. They also gave me the good news that the check was free, I said "I know that it is".
I was up that way yesterday and checked on the charger they were all unlocked. They have a 2013 S in stock.

Bucknell University in Lewisburg PA has added two Charge Point chargers and one Tesla charger. They are free.
805 Fraternity Road, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, 17837 It was no problem to use them on the Sunday afternoon that I was there, it may not be so accessible when classes are in.

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and figured I'd use my first post to give Brenner Nissan a good report. I can't say what their policy is with their chargers but in my experience they are good people and are eager to learn about the new ways they can support their EV customers. I bought my car from them and have taken it to them for my regular service visits and I used them to take advantage of the free rental car that came with the purchase of my LEAF and I was disappointed they did not plug in my LEAF while I was gone even though they did park it in the charging parking spot, haha. It hasn't been a perfect experience and at times it was a little frustrating getting stuff in order, but I'd say they are pretty good, considering how much I hate the dealership industry. Also, Halla to all my fellow Central PA LEAF owners! Maybe someday I'll hit up Knoebels, but it's 80 miles from my house so it would be an 'Adventure'.

The Sheetz quick chargers just popped up on Plugshare. It says they will be operational by the end of March.